Did you eat too much over  the past few days and woke up this morning feeling like crap after hanging out with friends? There is nothing worse than feeling tired, sluggish and weighed down. Last night after the holiday social events ended, I came home and could slowly feel all of the red wine, whiskey cocktails, and cheese hors d’oeuvres settle in and drag me to the couch where I stayed all night with no energy to crawl into bed. This morning was not much different. I still felt a hot mess. My body was not happy and I am strong believer that our bodies have strong ways of telling us when something is just not right. In order to live a healthy lifestyle we need to start listening.

We get fevers to fight off viral infections and we swell up as a result of inflammation. This sudden lack of energy is no coincidence. My body was screaming HELP! I decided to do myself a favor and implement some easy home detox solutions to clean out my insides. First, let me school you for a second so you can know why you should detox.

ACID vs. ALKALINE  MATTERS… HERE’S WHY (the short version)

When you eat too much crap the level of acid in your body shoots to an all time high. You start to lose energy, feel sick, and open the door to diseases that can be prevent. The pH level in your body should be somewhere around 7.4(ish) and certain  foods push your pH level to acidic while other push it to alkaline.  Eat and Drink more of the stuff than push you toward alkaline. In fact, pure water has a pH of 7 so water is a great way to flush out all of the acid in your body.

START WITH DRINKING MORE WATER

It might sound cliché, but drinking more water will actually make you feel better, especially if you are dehydrated from alcohol consumption. If you eat lots of processed foods, shell fish, cheese and diary, or sugar… then a daily water detox might be your best friend. Addition other nutritional, anti-inflammatory, fruits and veggies to your water will be your body’s breath of fresh air. You will instantly  feel better and when your body feels better your will able to master stress management in other areas of your life.

Below is a daily detox water  routine that will boost your energy and make you feel better after eating too much.

1. Start the  morning off with a small mug of hot water and lemon. (You should probably do this every day no matter how you feel)
2.  Kale + Ginger and 2 fruits:  Grab a blender and 1 bunch of kale and ginger. Mix in 2 fruits and down 1 8oz glass of it before you start your day.  I always do pineapple and blueberry for a double dose of Antioxidant goodness.
3.  3 Before Noon:   Drink three 16.9 oz (a regular sized water bottle) of water before noon. Add cucumber slices to one, pear slices to another, and lemon slices to the third
4.  3 After Noon:  Drink three 16.9 oz of water after noon (before 5 pm). I would recommend having a nice dark green leafy salad full of sprouts and green magic as well (since this is a post about drink I won’t go into the salad details just make sure its raw and green).   Add lemon to one glass,  cucumber slices to another, and blueberries to the third glass.
5.  Spinach + Avocado and 2 fruits: Grab that same blender and add 1 bunch of spinach along with 1/2 (or a whole if you love avocado) avocado and 2 fruits. You can add some honey or agave to help the flavor.  I would also throw in some broccoli for an anti-oxidant power punch since it’s probably some in the freezer … everyone has broccoli.
6.  End the day with hot green tea:  Green tea is loaded with polyphenols and protect your body from various diseases. If you can thrown in a workout before bed your are really on a role.  Exercise will release all types of endorphins that will help you feel better.

I am a fan of living life to the fullest, enjoying friends and family, and indulging in yummy foods that might not be so great but I also believe in counter acting the “fun times” with self preservation practices and self care.  It’s that spaces between being a complete irresponsible party animal on the road to self demise and being the overbearing health nut that won’t even look at a piece of sugar who forgets to live a little. #GRAYSPACE